


Seek and You Shall (not) Find

by LadyOxymoron



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Presents, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 08:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28348467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyOxymoron/pseuds/LadyOxymoron
Summary: Away on Clave business, Alec hides Magnus’ gift in the loft.Finding it is harder than Magnus expects.
Relationships: Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Comments: 34
Kudos: 169
Collections: SHBingo 20-21





	Seek and You Shall (not) Find

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the SHBingo square "Christmas Fic".
> 
> Happy holidays, everyone!

Alec is still gone when Magnus wakes up. 

It’s December 24th and Alec has been away for a few days. He’s been called to Idris to attend the trials of some rogue Shadowhunters he’d helped put in custody and, after new evidence has been brought up to the Clave, the trials have been delayed and he’s not expected to be home for the next few days. Which is rather unfortunate for Magnus, considering it disrupts all of his holiday plans. 

Alec has promised him they’re going to make up for it but Magnus finds cold comfort in the prospect of delayed festivities when he’s going to spend the next two days alone. A spark of annoyance flares in his chest and he does nothing to smother it, considering there’s snow drifting past the bedroom window and Alec’s side of the bed is frigid and it’s all the Clave’s fault. 

Magnus curses their lack of holiday cheer and turns over, resigned to spend Christmas on his own. He considers texting Catarina, even though he knows she’s taking Madzie for a tour across Europe, but in the end, he decides he’s not going to subject himself to the hassle of international portaling and he’s not going to intrude on their first vacation together. 

He’s about to get back to sleep when his phone chimes with a new text. 

_I hid your present somewhere in the loft. Bet you dinner you won’t find it. - Alec_

Magnus smiles at the challenge and soon his smile turns into a full fledged grin and blooms into a laugh at the assumption that he won’t find something hidden in his own loft. 

He doesn’t have the time to put his phone back on the nightstand when it chimes again. 

_Don’t cheat with magic,_ the new text says. 

_I don’t need magic to win_ , Magnus quickly types back. _Challenge accepted._

Text sent, he puts the phone away and leaves the warmth of his bed in favor of a hot shower to start the day. He takes his time under the spray of the water and the idea that he won’t find his gift is so laughable that he doesn’t even start looking for it right away. 

Once dressed, he spends the next half an hour having coffee and breakfast and it’s only after he’s put away the dishes and caught up with the latest news from the Warlock community that he starts his hunt. 

“Oh, Alexander,” he murmurs to himself as stretches and rolls his shoulders, getting ready for the hunt. “You owe me dinner.”

The rest of the morning flies by and Magnus has to admit Alec has put some thought into hiding his gift. However, there is still plenty of time left before Alec’s return and he’s not especially concerned that the present is yet to be found. 

By early afternoon, he’s mildly annoyed at Alexander’s ability to hide the wretched thing so well but he is still confident he will be victorious. 

A few hours and three cups of coffee later and he’s desperately going through every nook and cranny of the loft, going as far as checking the trash bins, even though he will vehemently deny doing it if asked. He’s helplessly trying to think of possible hiding places, frustrated to the point of thinking about tearing off the floorboards when he realizes he hasn’t checked in the most obvious place. 

He stands and, with a burst of renewed energy, runs to their bedroom and crawls under the bed, letting out a small shriek of victory when he feels a small box under his fingers. 

Box in hand, he crawls back out and stares at it. It’s flat and wrapped with a festive blue and silver paper and it looks so innocent he laughs at the thought he’s spent the whole day looking for it. 

Magnus whisks his phone out of his pocket and types a quick text to Alec: 

_I win. I’ve found your present._

He sits back on his heels and takes the box in hand, weighing it and shaking it, frowning when he can’t hear anything move within. He’s about to tear up the paper, when his phone chimes. 

_Have you?_

And Magnus can perfectly picture the two words as if they’re coming out of Alec’s mouth. He can picture the amusement in his voice and he can visualize the smirk on his lips and that’s when doubt starts to creep in. 

Magnus quickly tears off the paper and opens the box, groaning when instead of the gift he was looking for, a slip of paper slides out of it.

_You thought it was gonna be so easy? Try again._

Magnus curses under his breath and he’s tempted to vanish the offending box but he ends up leaving it on the floor and pocketing the note. 

By dinner time--a late dinner, courtesy of his boyfriend and his devious games--Magnus still hasn’t found his gift. He’s tired, sweaty, he’s nursing a few bruises and scrapes, and he has no energy left to cook so he ends up summoning a pizza from the restaurant behind the corner and eats it straight from the box.

Later that night, as he’s drifting to sleep into an empty bed, he thinks about all the ways he’s going to exact retribution for being left alone for Christmas and for having been deprived of his gift. He’s not clear on the details yet but he’s pretty sure his future will hold breakfasts in bed and massages and makeup sex. And ideally, Alec all to himself for the next week.

***

It’s only after a restful night of sleep and an abundant breakfast that Magnus is ready to resume his hunt. 

He magically conjures up a blueprint of the loft--it’s not cheating if he doesn’t use it to find the actual gift-- and goes through it, slow and methodical, crossing out the places he’s already looked into. It only leaves the guest room and the balcony. 

The guest room is sparsely furnished and he makes short work of going through every inch of it but he still ends up wasting the rest of the morning. 

After a short pause for lunch, he’s ready to deal with the balcony. He’s not sure Alec has gone as far as hiding his gift in the balcony but it’s the only place Magnus hasn’t checked and he intends to be thorough. 

It’s cold outside, so cold almost all the cats are gone. There’s only one brave cat waiting for his food. Magnus spells himself warm and scratches the cat’s head before filling up all of the bowls. 

The cat eats and Magnus spends the last hour moving pots and chairs and thoroughly going through the balcony, only to come up empty. 

The cat is still there, staring intently at him, apparently entertained by Magnus’ search. 

“Don’t you worry, darling,” Magnus tells the cat. “We will find it or perish trying.” 

“ _Meow_ ,” says the cat. 

“You’re right, perishing would defeat the point,” Magnus says with the utmost seriety. “But we’ll be victorious.”

“ _Meow_ ,” the cat repeats. 

Satisfied by the cat’s encouragement, Magnus summons a small trowel and gets himself ready to look in the very last place left: the potted plants. 

Another hour later sees Magnus sitting on his living room’s floor. There’s dirt on his face and under his nails and he can’t feel his fingers. There’s a small gash on his hand, courtesy of the rose bush and his designer pants are ripped at the knee. 

He sighs and, at last, admits defeat. He has lost and he’s facing Christmas day alone, without even the small comfort of opening Alec’s gift. And it’s so unfair he stands and summons his magic, determined to find the damnedest gift at all costs. 

“I said no cheating.”

Alec’s voice comes from the doorway and it’s fond and amused and so, so beloved. 

“Alexander!” Magnus strides all the way over to Alec and pulls him into a tight and relieved hug, all of his troubles forgotten. “You’re home.”

Alec huffs out a low chuckle and holds onto him. “I managed to talk them into stalling the trials for the next two days. We’ll adjourn on Monday.”

Magnus pulls back and feels his own face break up into a huge grin. “It seems like I’ve found my gift, after all.”

Alec laughs, loud and warm. “No, you didn’t. I win.”

“Admit it,” Magnus says, still smiling because the joy of having Alec home for Christmas soothes the sting of losing their bet. “There is no gift in the loft.”

“Of course there is.”

Magnus shakes his head. “That’s not possible, Alexander. I’ve looked everywhere _._ ”

“Did you?” Alec asks and there’s a smug grin playing on his lips. 

“ _Everywhere_ , Alexander,” Magnus reiterates. He points at himself, at his torn pants. “Look at me. Do you know how hard it is to dig around roots without magic?”

To his credit, Alec tries to not laugh. He fails miserably at it. “Did you really dig up the plants?” he asks, shoulder shaking with mirth.

“Ask the cat,” Magnus says, lips unwittingly lifting up into an answering smile. “He was there.”

Alec is openly laughing now and pulling Magnus close, uncaring of the dirt he’s getting all over himself and Magnus soon finds himself joining in, laughing so hard and so long his side hurts. 

“Well, where is it?” he asks, when he manages to catch his breath. “I’ve really looked everywhere.”

“In your bedside drawer too?”

“Of course I did.” Magnus narrows his eyes at Alec, trying to remember whether he’s really gone through his drawer and coming up empty. 

“Did you?” Alec asks, amused. “Or did you get so swept up trying to come up with all the places it could be in, you forgot to check the most obvious place?” 

“Oh, you little-” Magnus suddenly turns on his heels and races toward the bedroom, a still laughing Alec on his tail. 

He yanks his bedside drawer open and here it is, another flat box, wrapped with the same blue and silver paper as the one he found under the bed. 

He rips the paper and opens the box, only to eye warily the folded sheet of paper within. “Oh,” he says, letting out a sound between a groan and a laugh. “Again? I can’t believe you.”

“Open it,” Alec says and there’s no smugness on his face now, no trace of amusement. 

Magnus carefully unfolds the paper and gapes at Alec. “Hotel reservations?”

Alec hums in assent and scratches the back of his head, the way he does when he’s nervous about something. “I’ve been so busy and I was gonna be away for Christmas, so I thought we could, you know, go somewhere to celebrate New Year. Just the two of us. Unless you, uh-”

“Oh, Alexander,” Magnus murmurs and rushes to Alec’s side to pull him into another hug because there’s no way he’s going to have Alec doubt Magnus would be anything short of delighted to spend New Year traveling with his husband. “This is perfect.”

“Yeah?” Alec asks and Magnus can _hear_ the smile in his voice even before it blossoms on his face. 

“Yes, darling,” Magnus whispers, pulling back and leaning over to place his lips over Alec’s, wanting to _taste_ his smile too. “Thank you.”

Alec smiles again, wide and happy and he’s so beautiful he takes Magnus’ breath away. “Merry Christmas, Magnus.”

“Merry Christmas indeed,” Magnus murmurs, beaming back at Alec. “Your gift is under the three because, you know, _I_ do not play tricks on people.” 

“I just wanted to keep you busy,” Alec says and Magnus’ heart skips a beat because he realizes Alec wasn’t sure he was gonna be back tonight and wanted to make sure Magnus had something to keep him busy. 

Warmth spreading through his chest, Magnus tugs at Alec’s sleeve. “Come on,” he says. “Let’s go get your gift.”

“My gift can wait a little,” Alec says, hands on the buttons of his shirt, hungry eyes on Magnus. “I’m in dire need of a shower and by the look of you, you could use one too.” He points at Magnus. “What do you say we share?”

Magnus feels his knees go weak at the intensity of Alec’s stare, at the prospect of having Alec after he’s been missing him for days. 

Gifts and dinner can wait because now they’ve got all the time in the world to celebrate. 

“Marvelous plan,” he says and kisses Alec again. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. I hope you had as much fun as I did. :)
> 
> My usual thanks to Toby for being a wonderful friend and an amazing sounding board and such a huge help with summary ideas. haha <3 
> 
> And also thank you to the Bingo organizers.


End file.
